Clontarf and the Hawks - Forging the future for our Indigenous youth

The Clontarf Foundation motto - from little things, big things grow - couldn't be more appropriate when looking at the dozens of Indigenous kids working their way up and down the hardwood of the Snakepit basketball courts in Wollongong.

The youngsters taking part - all aged between 12 and 18 - are being put through their paces by Hawks great and current community engagement officer Tim Coenraad as part of Clontarf's ongoing association with the Illawarra Hawks.

Clontarf's aim is to improve the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men in our communities. The Hawks aim is to help faciliate that by introducing the kids to basketball.

"Essentially we run a program to improve the overall behaviour of the boys in and out of school and we do that through a number of initiatives like coming down here and shooting hoops with the Hawks. We're an in-school program, we're in the boys lives everyday and we're committed to making their lives better," Director of Kanahooka Academy, Michael Montague, said.

"It's an optional program, the boys sign on with no additional cost to them and we do these type of incentivised trips to get the kids active and enthused about different activities. Every time they set foot on this court they learn leadership skills, how to work in a team and about resilience as well," Montague said.

New Clontarf  Director of Lake Illawarra Academy, Nigel Millgate, grew up in Dubbo in regional NSW and knows first-hand how important a role sport plays in young indigenous lives.

"There's probably not a greater role out there for an Aboriginal bloke like myself that grew up in the bush loving sport. Sport always helped me and my mates get away from the negative stuff that was chasing us around at times. Now I can help other young boys experience that same sense of enjoyment and satisfaction sport brings through a program like this with the Hawks," Millgate said.

"Aboriginal kids are talented at sport, it's positive reinforcement for them and they can all get out here on the court and work on anything from social skills to physical exercise, and theres no negativity. It's a very positive vibe so it ticks all the boxes for us," Millgate said.

Kanahooka (Kanahooka High School) and Lake Illawarra (Lake Illawarra High School) are the only Clontarf Academies in the Illawarra region, with two other programs running out of Shoalhaven and Vincentia. 

Illawarra Hawks community and engagement officer, Tim Coenraad, leads the Clontarf basketball program and said the benefits are far reaching for the region.

"A lot of these kids haven't had the luxury of growing up and experiencing simple things that many of us take for granted. Sometimes their lives are hard, they may have had to navigate or overcome different challenges and sport can be a great escape from the rigours of their day-to-day lives, "Coenraad said. 

"Any chance the Illawarra Hawks get to introduce enthusiastic, young kids to the game of basketball the better. Many of these kids have a real natural ability for the game and it's great to see them enjoying themselves, learning to work together and communicating so effectively on the court," Coenraad said. 

Kadin Mongta (15) is part of the Lake Illawarra Academy and said the trips to the Snakepit were always something to look forward to.

"It helps everyone stay active and keeps us out of trouble. We get to practice communicating with one another and treating each other with respect on the basketball court. Clontarf is good to get out, get active and achieve something cool. It's a pretty good experience learning a new sport and having Tim [Coenraad] teach us is awesome," Mongta said.

Marley Kemp (16) goes to Kanahooka High School, with the youngster saying the opportunity to take part in sporting programs like this is one of the big reasons he joined Clontarf. 

 "I've played basketball for four years now, it's great to get out of the house and come and do something active. Clontarf is known in the community for doing good stuff for Aboriginal boys. It keeps me out of doing stuff I shouldn't be doing and I just like doing sport, I've grown up around it and it makes me feel like I've achieved something and done something good for the day," Kemp said.

Both the Kanahooka and Lake Illawarra programs are aligned in their pursuit of better lives for their young cohorts, with the fundamental principles remarkably similar.

"We want to make the boys better fathers, better workers in the community and change the perception of young Aboriginal boys in our society," Montague said.

"We want these kids to be a positive atttribute to society and to their communities. We want them to make positive change for themselves and their families as they move forward through life," Millgate said.

The Illawarra Hawks community program is proudly powered by Pepper Money and many of these community activations couldn't happen without their valued support, guidance and assistance. 

History of Clontarf

The Clontarf Foundation commenced in 2000 with a single academy located at the Clontarf Aboriginal College in Waterford, WA.

More than 20 years on, the Foundation operates 131 academies in WA, NT, QLD, NSW, VIC and SA, supports more than 10,000 participants and employs over 500 dedicated staff members. 

Since 2000, Clontarf has helped more than 4,782 young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men complete Year 12 and find employment.